jane's topic(s)

haven't read the book - sorry. i'm starting to lean towards brave new world with regard to precognitive whatnot. not that everyone's constantly on drugs or anything, but the feel of it...
traditional "family values" are less important to people now than they used to be (thank goodness) though not quite to the extent that "mother" is a bad word. kids are shipped out sooner though - day care, preschool, all the way through college. i see lots of kids coming through the y who barely know their parents. granted, by putting them in ymca programs, the parents are showing at least a little bit of caring about the kids, but it's not like stay-at-home moms back in the day.
we're not all on soma all the time, but there's much more widespread use of recreational drugs than there used to be - and it's more widely accepted. for example, we just had to update our job applications to make one question ask if "except for cases involving marijuana more than two years ago have you ever been convicted of a crime?"
and the mantra/sex parties? we separate them. we've got yoga, and we've got every crazy sex thing anyone could want (jay & silent bob got to watch a guy do it with a donkey). it used to be shocking to hear about porno and masturbation, but after that one seinfeld episode... well, both topics are open for discussion.
so yeah. it's still a ways in the future, but i see a brave new world on the horizon (and it has been a while since i've read it, so no doubt there are some obvious points that i missed and will feel stupid about later, but all my books are in boxes right now so i can't go look it up).
finally, i just watched idiocracy last weekend (by beavis and butthead creator mike judge), and it kinda made more sense than i wanted it to. reading and writing were "just for fags" (that's a quote from the movie - i don't hate gay people). the most popular tv show was called "ow, my balls" and involved a guy repeatedly injuring his groin (jackass, anyone?), starbucks sold coffee and sex, and the hospital emergency room attendant plugged health complaints into a pictogram screen to diagnose problems. the president was elected because he was wwe champ 3 years in a row.
i don't think we're close to being idiocrats yet, but i could see us potentially getting there if the masses don't stick to education (and i mean more than just what they get fed in high school and through the media).
i can't think of any more scarily predictable books/movies right now, but i'm sure some other super-bloggers will.
have at it!